Vision Day 2025
The second Oxford Pastorate 'Vision Day' took place under sunny skies this May, once again gathering a group of students, postdocs, alumni, and speakers at St Hilda's College to spend the day thinking together about vision in Christian living - how we discern it, pursue it, and share it with others.
After an opening reflection from Pastorate Chaplain Dr Bethan Willis, which drew our attention to the foundational virtues of love, humility, and joy, we heard from our guest speaker Baroness Berridge, a member of the House of Lords since 2011. Lady Berridge gave a reflective and honest account of how her vision for her own career and contribution to public life began, and how it has grown and changed over the years. Her talk and the question & answer session following it challenged us to reach across political divides, prioritise community and accountability, and look for what God is doing at every stage: 'I loved her pragmatism and humility', said one participant.
The afternoon session gave participants the chance to hear from speakers around the world. We heard from Dr Terry Halliday of the Global Faculty Initiative, who shared how his vision of academic work integrated with Christian thinking developed in the latter stages of his career. Following that was an interview with Dr Kosta Milkov of the Balkans Institute for Faith and Culture in Skopje, North Macedonia, exploring the commitment he and his wife have made to cultural mission and ministry in their home country and the opportunities that has created for creative intercultural dialogue, hospitality for artists and thinkers, and Christ-centered voices in public life and the academy.
Following discussion, the remainder of the afternoon gave space for participants to begin to craft their own 'vision statement' - working through the priorities, opportunities, and challenges of their own current work and future hopes.
At the end of the day, friends and supporters of the Pastorate joined us for a drinks reception, taking advantage of the beautiful views from the St Hilda's roof terrace to celebrate, meet one another, and hear about recent activities such as the latest Oxford Connections trip to Macedonia with BIFC, the GFI book launch in March, and the Pastorate's new membership of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers.
